The Perils of Love
by burlesquexprincess
Summary: Elizabeth has always been overshadowed by Felicity, whose spunk and charm has everyone falling at her feet. Well, men at least. When the spring ball season comes around, what happens when Elizabeth falls in love? ElizabethxOC, with FelicityxBen
1. Prologue

**The Perils of Love**

**Prologue**

**Disclaimer**: I do not, and never have owned any part of American Girl (Though I wish I did). Any characters you recognize the name of are not mine.

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Dear Diary,

I suppose I should be used to it, the Felicity's always going to be the prettier one. What with her auburn hair and her green eyes and her spunk. Next to Fee, I'm just a little mouse.

We're sixteen now, ready to come of age, and she's got suitors calling on her every second of the day. (That is, all the handsome ones). The only reason any suitors ever call on me is because Papa's got a lot of money, and I come with a handsome dowry. So all the old Loyalists come calling on me, the fat men who are in debt because of something or other, and I get to suffer through endless stories about what they used to be. Before.

My name's Elizabeth Cole, by the way. I suppose you should know that, if you're going to be my diary. Mother gave you to me when I turned sixteen, a month ago, but I never got around to writing in you until now. I hope you're not insulted. Mother says every lady has a diary. Felicity has one, I've seen her scribbling in it all day long.

Well, about me. I'm not tall, shorter than Felicity. Fee's slender, and I'm curvy (that's the only thing I'm happy about - I look infinitely better in a low cut dress than she does). I've got wavy blonde hair, that falls to my waist, and bright blue eyes. My favorite color is pink. Mother gave me a pink ribbon to use, to mark your pages. It's very pretty.

My best friend is Felicity Merriman, or Fee, as I like to call her. We've been friends since before I can remember, even though my family are Loyalists, and her family are all Patriots. Felicity is secretly in love with Ben Davidson, who works at her father's store. Though, however pretty she is, it doesn't really seem like he sees her in any way other than as a sister (she laments over this constantly, trying to impress him every day).

He is rather handsome, but Annabelle, my sister, likes him too. I keep trying to think of a way to tell Fee lightly that a twenty-four year old (Ben's eight years older than us) will probably not fall in love with a sixteen year old when there's a twenty-three year old fauning over him. But to say, Fee's infinitely prettier than Bannanabelle. However, that's not very hard.

Writing in you isn't as much of a bore as I thought it would be, dear diary. It's nice to let my feelings out. Dear Lord, I'm starting to sound like Nan, Felicty's sister. She's always telling us that it's not good to keep our feelings bottled up. No bloody idea why.

I don't really fancy anyone, like Annabelle and Felicity. To tell the truth, the only reason most men talk to me is if I'm with Fee. I'm pretty enough, but Fee's prettier!

Don't get me wrong, dear diary, I love Fee dearly, I just wish sometimes men would pay attention to me instead of her.

Anyways, the spring ball season coming up soon, and Felicity and I can hardly wait. A lot of people come up from as far down as Charleston, just to go to the balls. That means plenty of men. Hopefully they won't all be crowding around Felicity and ogling at her. But imagine! All these sophisticated men from the cities, all coming to Williamsburg in hope of finding a wife.

They'll all start arriving soon, as Williamsburg is very nice during the spring. Much better than nasty old Charleston. That means that we'll have weeks and weeks of balls and more balls to find a suitor! I can hardly wait.

Must go now, dear diary. Mother's calling. She sounds rather annoyed about something.

- Elizabeth Cole

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Dear Diary,

Felicity Davidson.

Mrs. Benjamin Davidson.

Oh, how I wish these names were mine. They roll off the tongue quite nicely, don't they? I saw Ben today, unloading boxes to bring into the store. He had taken off his shirt, and oh! I nearly fainted. I do believe I'm quite obsessed with him.

Elizabeth doesn't think he likes me very much. I know that the chance of him falling in love with me are slim, but how I adore him! He's so handsome, and so kind. Today, when I saw him, I simply wanted to jump on him. But that would be the actions of a shameless hussy, and I am no hussy.

- Felicity Merriman (How I wish I could inscribe Davidson in Merriman's place)


	2. Visitors Arrive

Elizabeth Cole walked down the street towards Felicity's house, her straw hat in her hand, tendrils of blonde hair loose from her bun as they swirled around her face in the breeze.

The second she had gotten out of the sight of her house, she had taken it off, holding it by the pink ribbons that served to tie under her chin.

Hearing the rattling of a carriage, she looked up, her eyes meeting those of two proud horses trotting down the road. She gulped. Here they came. The carriage rattled by, but not before she looked into the carriage and spotted a young man, maybe twenty, watching her.

She blushed darkly, then grabbed a handful of her dress, and ran to Felicity's house, eager to tell the news.

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She arrived breathless at Mr. Merriman's store, where she knew Felicity would be, pretending to help customers while really trying to get as close to Ben as possible.

"Felicity!" she gasped, running up to her friend, who was looking sulky as Ben helped Annabelle choose out ribbons, as she giggled and put a hand on his arm every few seconds.

Felicity's face broke into a wide smile and the panting, disheveled Elizabeth. "What?"

"You won't ever guess what I just saw!" Elizabeth let out a small giggle.

"Whatever do you mean, Lizzie?" tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Felicity peered at her friend.

"A carriage!" Felicity still looked puzzled. "They're arriving! For the spring ball season!"

At this, Felicity's face broke into a wide smile herself. "And, you'll never guess what happened." Taking Felicity's arm, Elizabeth leaned forward to speak softer. "There was a man in the carriage, and he was looking at me!"

Felicity let out a delighted shriek, clapping her hands. "Lizzie! That's wonderful!"

"What's wonderful?" Ben called from over the store, a grin on his face as Annabelle began to sulk, pulling money for the ribbons from her pocket.

Felicity danced over to him, linking her arm through his. "The spring ball season is what's wonderful! Ball after ball, night after night, filled with glittering and satin and new gowns!" Ben grinned, looking at Felicity with brotherly affection.

"Oh yes. Mother's making me a new gown as we speak! That's what I came over to tell you in the first place, darling." Elizabeth tore Felicity away from Ben, grasping both her hands. "It's going to be absolutely gorgeous. Mother's been spending so much time on it. You must come over to my house so that we can get ready together."

Felicity smiled, dimples showing. "Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Now tell me more about this man of yours."

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An hour later, the two girls had relocated to Felicity's house, talking quietly as they sipped tea. Felicity had started her usual rant about Bananabelle's flirtations.

"She just bloody throws herself at him, for God's sake! Did you see her when you came in? I'm surprised she didn't bloody well kiss him! It was as good as it! Even before you came in, she kept touching his chest!"

Elizabeth gasped.

Getting the reaction she knew she would get, Felicity continued. "I'm just wondering why she didn't trail her hand just a bit lower, while she was at it. It certainly looked like she was thinking about it."

It took a second for Elizabeth to understand what Felicity meant, but once she had, she blushed a brilliant scarlet. "Felicity!" she hissed. "It's not good to talk of such things! It's scandalous, even!"

"I don't bloody well care. Bananabelle can go rot in hell. She's going to try to violate him some day!"

Elizabeth, to which the matters that conspired between husband and wife had not been very clearly explained, frowned. "Is it possible, for a woman to violate a man?"

Felicity laughed out loud, the sparkle that made men collapse at her feet leaping into her eyes. "Did no one ever tell you what happened when husband and wife share a bed?" she asked, grinning widely.

"Well, Mother explained the night of my birthday, but she wasn't being very clear…" she trailed off, worried as Felicity moved her chair closer.

"Well, then let me explain." Felicity said simply, putting her mouth near Elizabeth's ear and beginning to whisper.

During her explanation, Elizabeth turned a deep scarlet, her hand permanently against her mouth in shock. "You… you must be joking." She stammered when Felicity was done, staring at her friend with wide eyes "Besides, how do you know all this?"

"That's for me to know, and for you to know as well. My mother got rather carried away when she was describing it to me; the marriage between her and my father was one of love sprinkled with a lot of lust."

Elizabeth regained her normal color. _For a second, I thought Felicity knew from experience!_ she thought, shaking her head. Glancing at the clock on the mantelpiece, she started. "I have to go, Fee. Mother will be most angry with me if I am late again."

Waving goodbye, she set down the road, kicking up her heels as she ran towards her house, hat swinging from her fist, where the ribbons were becoming sweaty from her clasp.

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When she arrived at the house, she leaned against the wall, catching her breath, just as her pins gave out and her hair tumbled down over her shoulders. Elizabeth sighed, shaking her head. Mother would give her a scolding, but there was no way around it. She couldn't pin it back up on her own.

As she walked past the parlor, she heard her mother's voice. "Elizabeth, darling, is that you? Come in here, we have visitors." The color drained from Elizabeth's face, but she entered the parlor, smiling shyly, despite her mother's stern glare.

She curtsied, not wobbling an inch. Turns out those lessons and Miss Mannerly's had paid off after all. As she straightened, she met the dancing blue-green eyes of a young man sitting on the sofa, next to an older, stately woman.

_Dear Lord_, she thought, _It's the man from the carriage!_

_--------------_

_A/N: Bwahahaha. Cliffie. The reason these two chapters are updated so close to eachother is that I already have the first couple chapters typed up. So that's good. No need to wait very long. :)  
_


	3. Dresses, Dinners, and Diaries

**The Perils of Love**

**Chapter 2 – Dresses, Dinners, and Diaries**

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"Elizabeth, darling, this is Matthew Phillips, and his aunt, Ms. Christiana Phillips. They'll be staying with us for a couple months, until the ball season calms down." Elizabeth dimly heard her mother say this as Matthew Phillips got to his feet, bowing over her hand to brush his lips across it.

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Cole." he said, his eyes dancing as a smile lit his face.

She felt giddy with pleasure. He was so incredibly handsome, with his curling black hair... "Please, call me Elizabeth." she said, restraining a giggle at the fact that he had not yet let go of her hand. She claimed it back, smiling shyly.

"Elizabeth it is then - but you must call me Matthew."

She gulped, not used to this sort of attention, this sort of blatant flirting. She heard a light cough from the sofa, and Ms. Phillips came forward, the two women curtsying to each other. "A pleasure it is to meet you, Ms. Phillips."

"And you as well. Your mother has told us all about you in the short time we've been here." She smiled, softening the elegance of her features. "I daresay Matthew has been itching to meet you since we saw you walking along the road."

"Aye, I was wondering who such a beauty could be, and when I saw your mother, I recognized her in you. There could surely not be two such beautiful women who are not related."

Both Elizabeth and her mother blushed. "Well, Mr. Phillips, you're becoming very popular among the women of my household."

Elizabeth grinned cheekily at her father, who had appeared in the doorway of the parlor. Her father smiled back, before adressing himself to Matthew "You must have them falling at your feet back in Charleston."

"Oh, not at all, sir. It must be this clean Williamsburg air, it's getting to my head."

Elizabeth's mother got to her feet, straightening her skirts. "Well, we'll leave you men at it then. Elizabeth, I must show you your new dress, you'll adore it. Christiana, won't you please join us? I insist." Ms. Phillips smiled, following Mrs. Cole to the sewing room, Elizabeth following in their wake.

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"Oh, Mother! I adore it! It's wonderful!"

Elizabeth picked up the dress and twirled, watching the pink silk whirl around her. The under dress was cream silk dotted with tiny pink and light blue flowers, and a pink silk over dress above, which split in the front, revealing the under dress. Pink ribbons crossed over the chest.

"Well, try it on, dear."

Disappearing behind a curtain, the maids helped her get into all of the clothes, tightening the corset far tighter than she was used to, making her gasp and place her hands on her abdomen. Not fussing with her hair, she spun out from behind the curtain once fully dressed, turning expectantly towards her mother.

Her mother and Ms. Phillips both stared.

"Does it look all right?" she asked, looking around for a mirror. One of the maids had put a sheet over the full-length mirror in the room.

Without a word, Ms. Phillips took the sheet off the mirror, and Elizabeth walked towards it, looking at her reflection in the glass.

"I look… beautiful." Elizabeth said, spinning.

The two other women broke into laughter, shaking their heads. "One thing men like is modesty, my dear." Her mother told her, pretending to be angry.

Her cheeks were flushed, making her eyes sparkle, and her loose hair fell over the gown, highlighting the expanse of bosom revealed by the low cut bodice.

"I adore it, Mother." She said, clasping her mother in her arms. Mrs. Cole stepped back. "Be careful now, I wouldn't want you messing your beautiful dress up. Slip it off, it's almost time for dinner, in any case."

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Dinner was an interesting affair.

Elizabeth kept on being distracted as Matthew made eye contact over the bowl of potatoes set between them. Her mother and father sat at opposite ends of the table, and Annabelle, Ms. Phillips, and Mrs. Cole chatted about latest fashions at one end, while Mr. Cole and some of his business partners discussed business matters at the other end.

That left Elizabeth and Matthew in the middle, neither one wanting to join either conversation.

Conversationally, over dessert, Matthew remarked, "You're not a very proper girl, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth frowned. "Whatever do you mean?"

"The first time I see you, you are walking along the road unattended, your hat in your hand." He grinned impishly at her. "And the second time, you walk into your parlor with your hair down."

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose at him, taking a sip of wine. "You'd have wanted to take your hat off to feel the sun on your face, as well, and as for the second instance, my pins simply fell out just as I was entering the house."

She raised both eyebrows at him as he chuckled. "I'm not complaining."

"You are a shameless flirt, Mr. Phillips. I declare, you probably use these lines on every single girl you meet. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I do not use that line!" he protested, pretending to be affronted. "I use variations of it, but it is never exactly the same. After all, there are many girls in Charleston who are actually very proper."

Elizabeth laughed, throwing her head back. "You are incorrigible, Mr. Phillips. Does your mother know you are like this?"

"Of course not, she'd be appalled. Her poor heart would give out. Besides, I don't do this with every girl, just you. You bring out the worst in me."

Elizabeth just shook her head, turning towards her mother as she asked a question, and Matthew Phillips was left admiring Ms. Cole's handsome profile for the rest of the dinner.

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Later, Elizabeth lay on her bed, pulling out her diary from where she had hidden it behind her headboard.

_Dear Diary,_

_The Phillips arrived today. A certain Matthew Phillips, and his aunt, a Ms. Phillips. They are most congenial. Matthew Phillips in particular. He is tall, as tall as Father, with blue-green eyes, curling black hair, and a wicked smile. He is perhaps the most handsome man I've ever seen, but Mother always warned me about handsome charming men. Apparently, they're nothing but trouble. Ms. Phillips is very nice. A widow – her husband died a few years ago, and she's been acting as a chaperone for Matthew since then. He certainly needs one, at least. _

_Mother and the maids finished my gown! It's lovely. And it's only the one for the first ball. Mother says a proper lady needs at least four ball gowns. She says she'll make me five! I can hardly wait._

_Annabelle and Felicity are going to have to battle it out for Ben's affections. I really don't think he sees Felicity as anything other than a sister, as much as that may break poor Fee's heart. But I do think he likes her more than Annabelle. Ben's very much older than us, however. He was probably having – oh, how to put this – tumbles with women when we were ten. Even though Fee's perfectly lovely at sixteen, I don't think he'll ever see her as more than the gangly ten year olds we were._

_On that note, Felicity was saying the most scandalous things today. She explained to me much better than Mother did about the relations between man and wife. She says her mother told her, but I could tell she wishes she had learned from experience (with Ben, of course). Oh Dear Lord, now I'm the one thinking dirty things. I do wonder what it would be like, however. I wonder if Matthew Phillips knows. Of course he does, with that silver tongue of his, he's probably known since forever. Oh, these are horrible things to think. And not very ladylike thoughts to write in my diary, either. I doubt this is what Mother had in mind when she gave me this._

_I'm going to sleep. And not think nasty thoughts._

_- Elizabeth Cole_

_P. S. I suppose I haven't been truly honest with you, dear diary. I would rather like it if Matthew Phillips kissed me.  
_


End file.
